benefit fraud

robpw2

FBaby wrote: »

Can it really be the case that agencies can cross reference to such extent that they can pick up on over-payment of childcare fees of just a few 100s of pounds, but such overt benefit fraud could take place for years without anyone questionning anything? Without anyone reporting them for so long? I think I am just very naive....

the problem is that they have to have so much evidence to proove these things it can take years to investgate and they have so many flags and people to investigate that people slip through the cracks

FBaby

robpw2 wrote: »

the problem is that they have to have so much evidence to proove these things it can take years to investgate and they have so many flags and people to investigate that people slip through the cracks

I understand that, but if she really has a mortgage on a house (or 3!) with her name on it, how hard is it to cross-reference bank details with IS unless of course she is using different names?

balmk

Money owed to you aside, you have a responsibility to report your "friend" for benefit fraud; it's people like "your friend" who the taxes that we pay go to subsidise and these funds should instead be funding someone who really needs it. By not reporting this person you are condoning their behavour and frankly should be considered as a party to the fraud as you have allowed it to continue.

In terms of the money owed to you, if you have no formal agreement to repay then you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.

If you have evidence that you have loaned the money and your "friend" has agreed to repay it, you need to go down the solicitors/courts route and initate civil proceedings to recover the money.

mouseymousey99

This sounds like the story I was watching in the wee small hours a day or two ago. A 'lady of the night' who owned several properties, and then claimed h/b. I think its a Troll and if it isn't; frankly I couldn't care less about the posters £15k.

peainapod

What's a troll if you don't mind me asking ? Somebody posting a fake post ? What do they gain from that ?

Blobby8_2

Kes123, there is no point reporting your friend, your tax liability will not reduce neither will anyone elses, the government will just p1$$ it away on something else.
Regarding your £15k I suggest you see "the man" and excersize some terror tactics to induce repayment.

OwnedByFerrets

I think you should have reported her already, not wait until she owes you money and use it as a get back. Reporting benefit fraud isn't 'stopping low' I believe we all have a duty to report illegal activity if we know of any, otherwise we are condoning it? Don't worry about the moral implications of reporting it - the moral implications of not reporting it are far worse - and she's obviously not your friend anyway, so don't worry about her situation.

Doesn't sound like you'll get that money back unless you go through small claims.

Also her children are too old for her to be claiming income support right? - so none of that sounds plausible, perhaps she's not receiving as much as you think.

scooby088

I was reported for benefit fraud about 12 months ago, i could prove that i wasn't working or claiming anything, but the interview under caution and subsequent wait for the letter to say that there would be no further action. If you are sure of fraud then ring the fraud line and get the person concerned to pay up for her crime, but just to be petty is wrong as you have known for years they were committing fraud.

Muttleythefrog

kes123 wrote: »

Hi all, not sure if this is the right forum. I did yesterday start a thread on Debt relief orders.
Basically i am owed 15000 by someone i thought was a very close friend. They are refusing to pay me back and so I am thinking in my head. Ok if you want to be like that I will come down to there level.
report them for benefit fraud.
What would happen to someone who owned 1 house outright, owned 2 more houses and a piece of land with a small mortgage. But they were renting them out.
So she splits up with her partner they have two children. She then goes into rented accomodation and starts claiming council tax benefit, housing benefit, and also income support. Obviously not declaring all the properties that she owns. She has now been doing that for approx 9 years. eventually one house got repossessed but i think she got around 20k when that happened. this money was not delared. Sometime in 2008 another property and the land were repossessed and there was about 70k left over. She decided instead of splitting the 70k, and it was done through solicitors. He would keep the 70k and the other house that was left would be transferred over to her name outright.
Although all the paperwork was carried out she never got round to getting the deeds altered so 3 years later the house is still in joint names. She borrowed the money off me to re-fit the house and sell it. this was 2 years ago, but she has never yet tried to sell it, so it just sits there. she also owes approx 16k to banks and credit cards.

If I do report her what would be the outcome. Her children are now 16 and 25. She claims council tax benefit even though her eldest daughter still lives at home and is working and paying board.

I really hate to stoop so low as to report someone, but feel at this moment why should she not pay me and get away with all this.
comments please

To be honest solicitors should have probably detected suspicious activity relating to financial crime if they were doing their job properly.

Report her. It would be inconsistent to say someone who owes you money should give it back and at the same time condone outright theft.

lemontree

make_me_wise wrote: »

All sounds very far fetched to me. Think we are dealing with a troll

Once again a contributor is accused of faking.
If we think a post is false we have no need to read it let alone answer it!!!!!!!!!!!